Unloading apparatus.



W. F. THORNTON.

UNLOADING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 10, I915 Patented July 9, 1918.

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lrIvI-ZHTQR WILLIAM E THORNTON ATTORNEY M MM UN W. F THORNTON.

UANLOADING APPARATUS.

.APPLICATION FILED JUNE 10. 1915 Patented J My 9, 1918.

4 SHEETSSHEET4 2 INVENTOR WILLIAM ETHORNTOH ATTORNEY W. F. THORNTON.

UNLOADING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 10, 1915.

1,272,150- I Pfitented July 9, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

INVENTOR WILLIAM E THORNTON ATTORNE\ W. F. THORNTON. UNLOAQING APPARATUS. APPI ICATION FILED JUNE 10. I915.

Patented July 9, 1918.

4'SHEETS-SHE'ET 4.

ATTORNEY tree r ars UNLQADING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters latent.

Patented July 9, 1918.

Application filed June 10, 1915. Serial No. 33,331.

To all whom it may concern: i

it known that 1, WILLIAM F. THORN- ion a citizen of the United States of Amen iczu residing at Birmingham, in the county of JefJerson and State of Alabama, have i11- vented certain new and useful Improvements in Unloading Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to new and usefulimprovcments in an unloading apparatus which is particularly designed andadapted tor the unloading of material that is cus tomarily handled in slings from boats and delivering it to the dock or warehouse for further distribution,

illy apparatus contemplates the use of a traveling structure adapted to move lengthwise of the (lock and having mounted there on a truss along which an endless conveyez passes and from which it drops into the hold of the vessel to be unloaded. An important problem in apparatus of this character is the adapting of the truss to be so manipulated that it can be adjusted into position over the hatches of various types of vessels without interfering with their rigging and without regard to the stage of the water. Extreme flexibility of adjustment is required in this respect of the truss and an in'u'Jort-ant feature of my invention is directed to the novel means to attain this end without unnecessarily complicating the construction or affecting its strength or the ease with which it can be controlled.

Other features of my present invention are the novel design of the truss supporting structure and the manner of adjust-ably supporting the truss therefrom; the novel arrangement for taking up and letting out the endless conveyor for service at difierent levels in the hold; the provision of one or nuni'c handling lines independently controllable to drag the freight from different parts of the hold to the conveyor; the novel arrangement of the operators platforms which arzz swung from the outer end of the truss; and various other details which are hereinafter more particularly described and set forth in the appended. claims.

As illustrative of what 1 consider the preferred embodiment of my invention, refer once is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification. and in which Figure 1 is a diagrammatic View in side elevation showing the apparatus in service with the truss in its extreme outer position.

Fig. :2 is an enlarged detail view in side elevation of the truss.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the movable structure with the truss shown in cross se tion on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view slightly reduced of Fig. 3 with the driving mechanism on the structure omitted for the sake of clearness;

Fig, 5 is an outer end view of the truss as seen in Fig. 2 with the boom omitted.

Fig. 6 is a detail view of the take up sprockets with the mechanism for detachably interlocking them.

Figs. 7 and 8 are diagrammatic views showing the truss in its several adjusted positions and illustrating the flexibility of its control.

Fig, 9 is a vertical sectional View through one of the swinging operators platforms at the outer end of the truss and illustrating the manner of its connection to the truss and the mechanism controllable therefrom.

Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the drawings.

i The main truss supporting structure consists of a frame work, preferably of steel, which is pyramidal in elevation and is supported on wheels 1 which travel on rails 2 running lengthwise of the dock, thus permitting the entire structure to move freely to any desired location along the dock. A steel truss 3, of sufiicient length to extend over the centerof the hatchways of the largest boat, is supported at its inboard or shore end on 'two flanged wheels 4, which in turn rest on horizontal rails 5 fixed on each side of a vertical passageway or tunnel 6 in the structure. The outer end of the truss is pendent from a boom 7 by an adjustable block and tackle comprising a lower pulley 8 fast on the outer end of the truss and an upper pulley 9 sus pended by a swi el hanger 10 from the upper end of the boom 7. A line 11 made fast to the swivel passes around these pulleys and is carried to the side of the boom so as to clear the truss, a pulley 12 being mounted on the side of the boom to receive the line and from this pulley the line extends downwardly along the bottom to a pulley 13 mounted on a forward portion of the structure and disposed concentric with the axis 15 45 p 6. ,A line 27 leads from another drum on r on which the boom swings. lhe boom itself, as seen in Fig. 3, is divided into two parts which comprise inner parallel bars 16 and outer bars 17 ,-each inclined toward the adj acent bar 16 and braced thereto by lattice- Work. The two bars 16 at their upper ends are cross connected by a bar 18. The bars 16 have their pivot pointspr axes mounted on'an I-beam 19 forming the bottom of the 10 well 6- and rigidly supported on a bent 20 of the structure. The structure comprises inner inclined braces 20 to takethe thrust strain of the boom. By this. arrangement the parted boom leaves the well 6 in the structure unobstructed in front for the adjusting play of the truss 3 therein. The tracks 5, upon which the truss wheels 42 travel, are mounted on Lbeams 21which extend through the well on each side thereof 20 and project to the .front and rear of the structure proper being supported at their outer ends at each side by spaced pairs of vertical beams 22 and 23 disposed respectively at the front and rear of the structure 25 andmounted thereon andbraced thereto.

Side brackets 21 support the beams 21 in.

. the well. This arrangement is perhaps more clearly shown in Figs. 1, 7 and 8,

"where the truss fiack support is shown clearlysas a rectangular frame which extends horizontally through the pyramidal "structure at an intermediate point so that the structure projects vertically and centrally above it. This arrangement is of particular advantage in making the structure very simple andeat the same time pro- I riding the most convenient means for the strong support and flexible control of the 3. The line 11, for raising and lowering the outer end of the truss relative tov the boom, after passing the pulley 13 is car ried up along the structure and after ass-- ing around a pulley .24: at the top or the structure it passesto a drum 25 mounted above a suita le platform 26 above the well said platform 26 and after passing around pulleys 29 and '30 at the top;of the pyram- .1dal structure and at'the upper end of the 3 '50 bocmis made fast so that the boom can be raisedand lowered on its axis '15. These- .drums 25. and 28 are loose and provided with the ordinaryfriction clutch and brake means (not shown) for driving them from a pulley 31 which is driven by a belt or chain 32 from a pulley 33 which in turn is driven by a pulley 34 and belt 35 from the motor 36rat the hottorn of the structure. This belt tiff-"drives a plurality of independent clutch controlled pulleys, one of which serves to. pass around driving the sprockets 74, talro drive by means of a belt 37 the worm shaft 38 which, through a worm'39on the'axle 40 for the wheels, controls the adjustment of the structure on its track. Anotherof said pulleys, by means of a belt 41 and gearing ascent-ac gated structure rectangular intransverse cross section and formed by four longitudinal chords 46 braced togetherby side latticework 47 and by top and bottom latticawcrlt 48, thus forming a hollow brace truss possessing great strength for its weight. wheels 5, on which the inboard end truss mounted, are connected to axles it ,v'vhich; are journaled. in angle irons 5O to the lower chords 4C6- Near its outer sin ,make fast to the upper chords two up nst rights 51 upon which is mounted a tr verse bar 52 carrying atis center the 3o nal bearing 53 for the pul treme outer ends of the upper chords mountjournal bearings 5 1 (see gs. 2 and 5) and in these bearings I mount a shaitt which has fast thereon between journals a v M A1 pair of spaced sprockets c6 and whicn. has on its outer end which-projects beyond side of the truss h'sprocket 57 keyed thereon and adapted to be driven by a chain 58 from a sprocket 59.- This sprocket islreyed to a cross shaft 60 which extends through and is "suitably journaled in the truss andv which at its outer ends serves as a trunnion hear ing for the swinging platforms 61 which will be hereinaiten -more particularly described. This shaft 60 has" fas'tened thereon a sprocket 62 which is disused within the truss and is driven by a. c ain 63. passing lengthwise through the truss and about a sprocket 6;? at the rear end of the truss, This driving mechanism, rigidly supported at the inboard or shore end oi; the trees, consists oi the following: TA- motor 65 drives thecountershaft 66 on whichare a sprocket c7 and a bevel gearfiS, the latter driving 69 through-bevel gear 70. ()n the shaft 69 a Worm screw 71 driving a worm wheel -72 on shaft 73. On this shaft are coupled sprockets 74, driven by a jaw clutch l' l fol driving the conveyer chain 7 5 and a sprocket 76 driving sprockets 77 through achain W3. Two strands of endless chain 75, provided with books 76 spaced at proper intervals,

up'wheel 79 and smooth face idlers 80, oper ating on angle rails 81 inside the truss,

drivers b6, and an idler sprocket 82 (wlnchigis weighted sufficiently to prevent undue swaying when loads are picked up can.

by c rains) idler sprockets 83 and back to driving sprockets 74. The sprockets 88 are iountcd on a shaft journaled in bearings attached to the underside of the truss. lhe take up wheels 75) and the smooth face idlcrs 80 are respectively mounted on cross shafts S8 and 89. The shaft 88 at its end is mounted in slide blocks 90 which travel in slideways formed between the adjacent horizontal flanges of angles 81 suppo ted by brackets 81 for the top of the truss. In like manner the shaft- 89 is mounted in slide blocks 91 which move similarly in the guides 81. Theshaft 88 at each end is connected by a bail 92.to a line 92 which runs forward through the truss to a drum 93 mounted on a coiuitershaft 9% at the forward end of the truss, which shaft is driven by a sprocket chain as from a sprocket 97' on the shaft 60. A clutch 9? controls the driving of sprocket 9'7. The drum 93 is adapted to be driven with the shaft 94 by means of a clutch 98 and may be provided with a suitable brake 98.

llcferring to Fig. 6, it will be noted that the blocks 90 carry rearwardly extended hook members 09 with their hook ends downturned and that the blocks 91 have hinged thereto latch members 100 with an upturned defiant adapted to interlock with the hook i and with a downturned tapered point 101 adapted to drop into a socket 102 in the lower guides 81 and permit the hook and dot-cut to automatically disengage, leaving the idler S at an intermediate point in the truss while the take up sprocket 79 may be moved to the extreme position at the outer end of the truss shown in Fig. 1. As the take no '59 is caused to move inwardly along the truss its hook member 99 will pass over the d tect when. in its notch 102 and will engage the blocks 91 so as to move the take up sprockets nd idlers together to their inner position shown in Fig. 2. The idlers 8O dill .vc as supports for the chain 75 when the 2.116 up sprockets are in extreme outer position, as will be more clearly seen in 1.

in order to facilitate the collecting of the freight so that it can be conveniently loaded mile the chain 75, I provide a pair ofhandling" lines 103 having hooks s: at their lower ends. These lines are wound on drums 105 which are loosely mounted on the shaft at the outer end of the truss and each drum is controlled by independent clutch members 106 and by a brake 106 A platform or cage 61 for the operators 7 freely suspended on each side of the outer end of the truss 3 in such manner that the lioor will remain always horizontal without regard to the angular disposition of the truss. This is preferably provided for by couliter-weighting the bottom of the platforms at 107 and by mounting the platforms by means of sleeves 108 on the outer in Fig. 5 will. have a slot in its top 108" through which the driving chain 58 will pass leading to the sprocket 57. Near the outer ends of the ails 5 l mount stop blocks 109 which serve to prevent the rollers l from passing endwise off the track as the truss is moved in either direction. An additional operators platform 110 may be provided at a point near the chute 44: in the structure convenient for an operator thereon to disengage the slings 111. from the chain hooks 76. Any suitable automatic release mechanism can be employed if desired.

In operation, the truss is adjusted lengthwise along its tracks 5 by unwinding or winding the line 27, to raise or lower the boom 7, the line 11 being played out or taken in at the same time if it is not desired to swing the truss vertically. This adjustment will obviously result as the raising or lowering of-the boom will change the point of suspension for the truss and cause it to swing bodily horizontally On its tracks. When it is desired to change the singularity of the truss this is accomplished by taking in or letting; out the lines 21 and 11,3.s will be more clearly by reference to the diagrammatic views in Figs. 7 and 8, and in making these adjustments it will be obvious that the truss will always adjust itself along its track 5 until. the line 11 hangs vertically in line with the lifting strain on the chain 75. With the apparatus thus far described, it is possible to move the truss 3 in or out, or raise or lower the outer end to suit the boat being unloaded, being thereby enabled at all times to place the outer end of the truss over hatch without interfering with the ships riggin The handling lines are easily controllable from the operators cages 61 by means of clutch levers 112 and brake levers 113 which control brakes 106, thus permitting the lines to be released or to be wound to draw the load to the conveyor chain and then held in this position until its load is transferred.

in order to provide for the raising and lowering of the idler sprockets 82 to control the length of the chain depending from the truss, the clutch 74 is thrown to release the driving sprockets 74: and the clutch 98 is thrown to coil the line 93 and draw the take up sprocket 79 to the right, Fig. 2, thereby shortening the chain 75. A brake lever 114. is then operated to apply the brake on the drum 92 and hold the take up sprockcats at the desired points. To lengthen the chain '75, the brake lever 11% is released and when the drivers 74 are disconnected, the sprockets 56 are drivt n to drew the chain 75 about the upper sprockets '77. ()perating levers 115 and 116. respectively, control the clutches 77 and 98.

While l have referred to the structure as having a tunnel or well in which the truss is received and left free for vertica play,

it will be understood that this term is meant .to include any suitable space provided in the structure which will permit the truss I to have the free vertical play contemplated in my invention. I prefer ,to have the boom which supports the outboard end of the truss mounted on and braced from the structure, but obviously such arrangement is of importance only where the structure is ad justable and it is desirable that all supporting parts should move together.

It will be understood that the principles of construction and operation which I have herein-described are capable-of many modi fications without substantial departure from the true spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

- 1. In an apparatus-of the character described, the'combination of a vertically adjustabletrussand its supporting structure of apair of swinging platforms suspended from the outboard end' ofthe truss,-'handling lines which drop from theoutboard end of the truss, power mechanism on the truss,

drums for said lines, clutch controlled means to drlve said drums from said power mecha- 1 nism, means on each platform to independently control a-handling line by means of said mechanism,,and a conveying apparatus on the truss also driven by sald mechanism,

substantially as described.

2. Inan apparatus of the characterdescribed, a truss supporting structure. a truss, means to adjustably support the truss from said structure, a motor mounted on theinboard end of said truss, an endless conveyer mounted on the truss and driven by said mostantially 'as described.

3. The combination with an endless convey'er and its supporting and driving mechani of adjustable take-up idlers over which saidconveyer, passes, guides for said take-up idlers, auxiliary supporting idlers which cooperate with the take-up idlers,

vmeans to connect said auxiliary idlers and take-up idlers' for jointmovement when the latter are in initial position, and means to automatically. disengage the-auxiliary idlers from the take-up idlers when the latter reach an intermediate point in their adjusting travel, substantially as described.

4. In an apparatus of the character de scribed, an endless conveyer, and means to support and drive the same, atake-up mechanism comprising an adjustable take-up roll,

an auxiliary idler roll, a pivoted latch o'n the latter,'a dog on the former adaptedjo engage the latch, a track on which engages the latch 'and'holds the dog and latch in tel-locked for joint movement of the two rolls, and a trip in the track to disengage the dog and latch at an intermediate poiiit in the adjustment of the take-up mechanism, substantially as described.

In testimdny whereof I afiix'my signature.

WILLIAM F. TI-I'ORN'ION.

V Witness: I'

NOMIE WELSH. 

